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Ray Barone
Born October 9, 1958, Raymond Albert "Ray" Barone is the titular and main character of Everybody Loves Raymond and the show thus focuses with centrality on Ray. He's the husband of Debra, the brother of Robert, the father of Ally, Michael, and Geoffrey, and the obedient son of Frank and Marie. Ray Romano plays the part of Ray. Ray lives in Lynbrook, Long Island, New York, with his exasperated wife, Debra, and children, Ally, Michael, and Geoffrey. Ray is a sports columnist for the local newspaper Newsday. Particularly in the first season, he is seen interviewing a famous sportsperson, (although this subsides in subsequent seasons), and he often uses his profession as sportswriter as an excuse to watch sports in the living room or go play golf rather than assist Debra with chores. Ray was pampered and spoiled by his over indulgent, passive-aggressive mother. This makes Raymond a lot like an overgrown child, which makes him a bit of a lazy husband. He doesn't know how to discipline his children or how to do anything around the house. He is never seen trying to do anything around the house other than sitting around watching TV or trying to get Debra to have sex with him. He is constantly trying to get his mom to help him avoid all of his adult responsibilities around the house and with the kids. Ray does occasionally show Debra that he does love her and care about her, which is probably the only reason she hasn't kicked him out or killed him yet. Although he and Debra cope with the everyday struggles, as mentioned by Ray in the title sequence of the first season, "it is not really about the kids." Ray and Debra's major problem comes in the form of the rest of the Barone family, who live across the street: his horrible parents Frank and Marie, and his miserable brother Robert. As well as acting somewhat infantile, (complaining with a nasally, whiny voice), Ray also has a weak, timid, and even neurotic personality, and is reluctant to assume any responsibility, and lives in abject fear of his mother, Marie. These traits are explained in stories from parts of Ray's childhood, which revealed that Marie spoiled him and was overbearing and over-nurturing, to the point of obtaining the job of school lunch lady to ensure Ray ate his greens. She also read his diary (journal) when he was a child and continues to be a nosey busy-body. She constantly tells him to go play with his friends while she takes care of the kids and helps him avoid his adult responsibilities. Frank showed no love or affection for either boy. He often belittled them calling them "Nancy-boys" if he didn't think they were acting "manly enough". Ray has ironically replicated with his own reluctance to participate with his own children. His poor attempts at disciplining his children often result in him telling his kids, "If you don't stop, you'll be grounded from TV for a month!" and other ridiculous empty threats. This obviously irritates Debra, as he isn't helping her with the kids at all. Ray's success in his work and family life, as well as his status as a "mama's boy," have generated envious feelings with his brother, Robert, who often quotes sayings such as: "It never ends for Raymond," and "Everybody loves Raymond." He also fears being disliked, as seen in the episode "Somebody Hates Raymond", when he discovers radio station manager Jerry Musso hates him, and is subsequently perplexed by it. Childhood and Background Raymond was born on Long Island in 1959. Many of his emotional problems stem from his childhood. His mother was overprotective, which turned him into a "mama's boy", and he received no affection from his father whatsoever. When Ray was a child, he shoved cocoa-puffs up his nose, and had to be taken to the hospital to have them removed, (by crushing them in his nostrils and blowing out the crumbs). Growing up, he did not have many girlfriends, and was never very successful when it came to women. He met Debra when he delivered a futon to her apartment while he was working for Claude's Futons with his buddy Gianni. At this time, he still lived with his parents. However, he attended St. Johns University in Queens, New York. In the episode "Boys' Therapy", Ray discovers that he descended from a long line of physically abusive disciplinarians. But Frank was the exception. He was never physically abusive toward Ray and Robert, never engaging in anything more than yelling at them. Ray has Italian heritage which is often referenced throughout the show. Character Development The character of Ray is virtually the same from the first episode to the last. Although in the early seasons, he was portrayed in a much more favorable light. In the later seasons, the show's writers seemed to exaggerate his flaws for the sake of comedy. Relationship to other major characters * Husband to Debra * Brother to Robert * Son to Frank and Marie * Father to Ally, Michael and Geoffrey * Brother-in-law to Amy and Peter MacDougall * Cousin to Gerard * Friends with Bernie, Gianni and Andy Episode Appearances Ray Barone appeared in all 210 episodes. (See the list of episodes) Trivia Ray has been married to Debra since 1988. Ray's mother loved him over Robert. Peter likes him. In the show, Robert is 4 years older than Raymond, but in real life both Patricia Heaton and Ray Romano Are 2 years older than Brad Garrett but they are shorter than Brad. Memorable Quotes *DEBRA: You know what I think? *RAY: If I say "Yes," do you still have to tell me? *RAY: (to Robert) Yeah, you're opening up whole new worlds to them—like the world of feet that smell so bad, your nose had to grow as far away from them as possible. *MARIE (Kisses Robert on forehead): I love you. *ROBERT: Thanks, Ma. I love you, too. *RAY: Now turn over. She'll powder your ass. *DEBRA: You know, it is comforting every once in a while for a wife to hear that... her husband wants to spank a supermodel. *RAY: I don't want to. Sometimes they're naughty! * RAY: I don't know how you live with them. If it was me, I'd be sanding off my fingerprints and rehearsing my 911 call. *MARIE: You are some brother! *RAY: Hi, Ma. *MARIE: Don't "Ma" me! I finally got it out from Robert. He's been sitting over there for two days, depressed, moping around, not talking to anyone. And you know why? *RAY: Because he's Robert? ---- Category:Characters Category:Main characters Category:Barone family